INDUS NET JOURNAL

Indus Net Technologies has recently completed an art auction website for Emami Chisel Art Private Limited (http://www.emamichisel.com/).

The website streamlines the process of online auction and allows registered users to bid on paintings along with the floor bidders, making it a powerful tool for traditional auction houses. Thus the charm of floor bidding remains along with the convenience of online bidding for people who cannot make it to the floor.

The site concluded its first auction on 23rd February 2008 with sales for the evening touching Rs 240 million (US$ 6233766.23). Tribute to Hashmi crossed the $ 1 million mark, creating a record for any Husain ever sold at an auction, with Internet bidding contributing to a sizable portion.

We wish them all the best and renew our commitment to deliver cutting edge solutions to companies around the world.

 

Yahoo announced that they are opening up their search results for third party data integration. This will allow third party to contribute to Yahoo search experience and make it more useful for their users. It will be interesting to see how other webmasters use this open search platform to gain popularity by sharing data with Yahoo, while still retaining their competitive edge, by virtue of their database, in their respective area. We can expect to experience a long-tail of innovation in days to come. This will help webmasters, visitors and Yahoo! A perfect win-win-win situation.

On the other hand, Google already have a open platform called Google Co-op, where anyone can create custom search engine. As per Google Co-op,

“Google Co-op is a platform that enables you to customize the web search experience for users of both Google and your own website.”

Google also offer Google Subscribed Links which in their own language they define as:

“Subscribed Links let you create custom search results that users can add to their Google search pages. You can display links to your services for your customers, provide news and status information updated in near-real-time, answer questions, calculate useful quantities, and more”

The challenge

However, both the services that Google offers, has a great deal of focus on promoting Google, Google Search & Google Subscribed Links. Again, they are not directly making any change in the Google Search (at least it has not be publicly explained how it will effect user experience of a normal search).

Therefore, Google Search or Yahoo Search cannot be termed as true “user contributed” or “Web2.0″ as described by Tom O’Reilly. People won’t contribute unless they see that their contribution is making a positive impact in the search pattern and it is visible. In the current state both Subscribed Link and Yahoo Open Search will only help if a user wants to use the enhanced engine. Most Internet users will never switch these engines. Even if they are told the benefit of the plug-ins, how are they supposed to select the ones which will help them from a collection of thousands of user contributed plug-in channels? And what happens when new plug-ins come out?

Suggested solution

If search engines want to go the Web2.0 way with user contribution enhancing the overall experience and defining the way search engines display results, they need to bring user contributions to the mainstream. I feel that themed searches are the way to go. Google / Yahoo shall classify a particular user contributed plug-in into a theme. When a visitor wants to search for a business, he may choose a “Finding a business” theme. On a contrary when a visitor wants to learn about the subject he may chose the “Tutorial” theme.

Let us see an example.

We search for a very competitive keyword – “web design”. This is the result we get.

If you see, there are three different intents that the search result satisfies. A person might be searching “web design” because he:

• Want to find a web design company (blue marker)
• Want to learn web design (red marker)
• Get web design resources (green marker)

All three intents are very different. Most people do not type-in their intent in the search box to make it a specific search, because they are not specialists in using search engines. Therefore, a search engine should suggest a possible intent and display results only related to the given theme. The theme model can best work when they are formed based on a collection of user generated plug-ins. Thus user generated content can find its way to the end user in an organized way.

It goes without saying that pulling in the user generated content directly into the main search result has its challenge of weeding out spam. But this seems to be the most logical way as of now. 

 

W3C HTML Working Group has recently released HTML 5 working draft. This is a very important step forward; the same is available for review and comment at http://www.w3.org/TR/2008/WD-html5-20080122/

The new standard addresses the need of web application developers in more pro-active way:

• Basic template facility has been implemented with facility to repeat elements
• There are also new elements for navigation, headers, footers, figures, and dialog
• Client-side persistent storage functionality (JavaScript APIs for key/value pairs & embedded SQL databases)
• Support for server-sent events, which will facilitate persistent connections to remote data sources

Some old features like frames have been removed.

Let us see how soon new browsers start supporting these new features of HTML 5. Currently the Opera browser has the best support (though it does not support all features) for HTML 5.

Footnote:

There is an overall trend to make HTML more developer friendly so that complex web applications are developed as per W3C standards and are compatible on different browsers on different mediums. With Bill Gate’s prediction coming in about different shapes and sizes of computers in this decade which will make computers more intuitive (like the table PC), this seems to be moving in the right direction.

So let’s think, how your website will look and take shape (as per device specific browser compatibility) when displayed on a coffee table as the people sitting around it mumble the name of your company!

Abhishek

MySQL 6.0 Alpha version has been announced on September 4′ 2007. The actual production ready version is slated to be launched sometime on mid-2008. So, it will be sometime before your business can benefit from it but our developer community will take notice and start playing with it.

MySQL 6.0 features a new database engine called “Falcon”. MySQL has been working on it since Feb’2006 when it acquired a company called Netfrastructure. With this acquisition came Jim Starkey who is created of InterBase database and has helped in the Falcon effort. Here is why it is cool:

Full Acid Compliance
Acid compliance has to be at the core of any database if has to be taken seriously and adopted in any business. Falcon manages transactions through a multi-generational approach in which only committed data is stored in the database.

Built for Speed
Falcon manages all transactional activity in memory (with optional paging to disk if necessary) so all requests are serviced from the memory instead of reading it from the disk, which makes it very fast. In addition, rollbacks of even the largest transactions are accomplished in a near instantaneous manner.

Row Level Caching
Falcon has a distinct memory cache called the Record Cache that differs from traditional database caches in that it only holds the necessary rows being requested by end user queries instead of full database pages that may or may not have data being asked for via SQL queries. This equates to more efficient memory utilization plus it ensures needed data stays hot/resident in memory all the time.  

Multi-Threaded System
Multi-threading is required for parallel execution which leads to superior performance. Falcon’s design takes advantage of multi-core systems to provide parallel execution of user and service threads. Falcon uses fine-grained multi-threading to increase parallelism with locking on internal structures being done at a low level. In some cases, two threads can change different attributes of the structure at once, because the attributes are separately lockable

The Falcon engine currently has following limitations:

1. A single database limit is 110TB
2. Each table is limited to 32,000 columns
3. Each table is limited to 4 billion rows

These limitations is more than luxury for full 99.99% of web-apps and we don’t see anyone hitting that limit anytime soon. You can start learning about Falcon from over here.

Amazon has officially launched its must awaited payment gateway service. Unlike Google Checkout, this is not a copy of Ebay owned PayPal.

There are very bright chances that Amazon will make Ebay a bit uncomfortable as it has got a powerful incentive for merchants to signup for its service. PayPal basically charges its merchants the same transaction fees for processing credit card transactions as well direct bank debits. Now, direct bank debit charges that PayPal has to pay in turn to the banks are not as high as the charges that are required to be paid to VISA or MasterCard when a credit card is charged. Thus, PayPal makes much profit with Direct Bank debits which consequentially is has made the default method. Amazon wants to charge its merchants a seperate transaction fees based by the type of transaction they do, this will make it more profitable for the merchants to sign-up with Amazon as they will pay lower fees for bank debits and Amazon balance transfers.

Here is what Amazon has said:

Additionally, Amazon FPS exposes a different fee structure for each of the underlying payment methods enabled: credit cards, bank account debits, and Amazon Payments balance transfers. Amazon’s cost to process a payment through a bank account debit is less than our cost via credit card. Our cost for processing an Amazon Payments balance transfer is less still. By exposing different fees for each of these three methods, we can pass on savings from bank account debits and balance transfers, allowing developers to save money. In each case, we take on the complexity of managing security and fraud protection.

Thus, there is a big advantage for merchants to use Amazon FPS. This is why Amazon has highlighted this several times in their FPS page. Here are some other things:

1. Amazon customers can use their in-built profiles for accessing its service. So, there is for re-enter card, shipping information.
2. It’s a pure webservice that has been targeted at developers rather than being a web-front. There is a strong incentive to leverage it as a platform to build innovative new applications.

Will it be more profitable than PayPal?

No Likely! Hold on to your eBay stocks, the markets show no change in its trading price by Amazon’s announcement and there is a good reason why. Let me explain:

The money in Payment Gateway business does not lie in membership fees but in transaction fees. This is the money that you as merchant as to pay to the payment gateway on every transaction.

PayPal allows funding of account and storing of money in that account. This money pressumably lies in PayPal’s bank account where is generates interest for PayPal but, a Merchant is loosing interest if it keeps money in PayPal account vs keeping it in a savings/checking account. In case of a PayPal to PayPal transaction i.e. one merchant is using its funded account  to pay another merchant, Paypal charges the transaction fees again to the merchant who is receiving the money but guess what ?, its an internal transaction so all of that money is pure profit. So PayPal has two extra channels of making money!

That’s a secret that will keep PayPal ahead of both Amazon and Google for many more days. Lets wait and see if PayPal starts to offer flexible transaction fees. As one of the biggest customers of PayPal in India, I guess we will be very happy. We cannot shift to Amazon immediately becuase of one major shortcoming as listed here:

Credit cards currently accepted by Amazon Payments are Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, and Diners Club.

You may also use a bank account to make payments using Amazon Payments. Only U.S. bank accounts may be used and a verification process must be completed before the bank account can be used as a payment method.

We simply have too many customers outside US who pay us via PayPal.

How many times have you heard?

• He is successful because he has the first mover advantage.
• I have a bright idea. I will seek venture funding and make it BIG!
• There are so many simmilar businesses around? There will be a lot of competition for my new business.

I bet, you must have come across a variant of one of these statements.

They all signify the general perception that a unique idea (or a first mover advantage, or an invention) is the core of a business. Actually this is not true.

Ideas are important. In fact, a business to keep its edge in the industry need to keep re-inventing itself and come up with new ideas, variance, reasons-to-do-business-with and disruptive trends to gain a leading position or maintain his leadership.

Ideas are the fundamental inputs for running a business. They are nothing special. If you cannot think out of the box, or come up with something unique on an ongoing basis, forget about succeeding in this cut-throat competitive economy. It is not for the light hearted ones.

But hold on. The process is execution! There cannot be an output without the process. The output will remain equal to the input if there is no process! It is a pity to see so many people burn midnight oil and hundreds of hours in defining, refining and protecting their idea, but they hardly take the first step forward to execute the same.

History is full of examples where visionary companies have emerged from innovation and smart execution of ideas which were conceived by someone else or invented by someone else.

• Microsoft didnt invented operating systems
• Apple didnt invented GUI
• Google was not the first search engine
• Dell was not the first desktop manufacturer
• Infosys was not the first outsourcing company
• Dhirubhai Ambani didnt set up the first polyster manufacturing unit in the world

The list is endless..

What these guys did and what is important is: See the Gap!

Nothing is perfect. Things happen in a given way which is good, may be better, but never the best. You can always better the effort by finding the gap what makes it imperfect. For a moment think of an “ideal scenario” and how it differs from what you are seeing today in a given context. Are you happy with everything? You cannot be. Its a utopian scenario.

If you see with a consumers’ point of view, you will be able to see a gap almost everywhere, everytime and with everything! So if you want to really make the next big search engine – find the gap – find the pain – find the imperfection. And hey – you have an idea! It’s so easy.

Now whats next!

• Validate your idea. See if it offers value to its stakeholders and create win-win synergy?
• Plan for the execution of the idea, but keep yourself flexible about its implementation and nitty-grittys.
• Plan for the risks. Risks can never be avoided. They can be managed.
• Set achievable targets and take youir first step.

All this really means – Take action!

So, when you can create idea at random (like an idea factory), you can always differenciate. And when you can differenciate and make things better – go ahead and do it. Take action.

Take baby steps. But try to walk. And soon you will be able to run.

Microsoft was a visionary company. It saw the potential in the business of operating systems. It harnessed its power and made it available for masses in form of DOS. They marketed it well and went on from becoming an innovator (mind you – not an inventor) to a world class company.

Google found that people are not getting the right results and they feel frustrated while searching for what they want on internet. They deviced algorithm which solved the problem. I bet when they started off, it was not a code as complex as you will have in spaceships! But they kept innovating, removing gaps as they saw them.

Social networking concept was initially mastered by a site called Friendster. However there are many more websites who have followed the same fundamental principle and improvised on that to achieve more fame and hiher valuation.

I am like a friend to most of my clients. When I speak to them, I always have this advice at the back of my mind. I advise them to do things differently to make it better in small increments based on those small ideas that you can generate at your will. To start taking the first steps towards a better web-application or a better business model. I am a strong advocate of compunding of small improvements done over a period of time to result in a considerable net effect.

So, its all about seeing the gap. Building small bridges and walking over them to leave your competition behind.

I look forward to see you all at the top at the game – ahead of the guys who invented the same.

Best of luck!

 

Google has sponsored  a project for the Master’s program at Carnegie Mellon University’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute for development of a new-age social networking platform. While the big goal is to transform online social networking, the current objective is to build a working prototype whose goal is :

To create a system for users to seamlessly share, view, and respond to many types of social content across multiple networks

For this purpose they conducted a research on usage of social networking websites and here is what they have to say:

• Gender: Men prefer entertainment while women prefer to focus on connections.
• Age: Older users want something productive while younger users want something social.
• Strength of Online Relationships: The Internet supports acquaintance relationships much better than close friendships

While I would love to argue here, but I will give them the benefit of doubt becuase the purpose is social networking which is not strictly limited to business networking. Here are some more points which I think are very revealing:

• Similarity and interests become more important online than physical proximity
• Social network usage is contagious. People join on a single suggestion, but require more motivation to continue use.
• The connections listed in any single online service are incomplete.
• Simple connections do not mirror the complex nature of real relationships

I interpret this in following ways:

• Building regional social networking sites is not a good idea but building a social networking site around a niche interest may be a success recipe.
• You need to be innovative in order to get people to come to your site often.
• Seeing someone with only 5 connections does not mean that they are not socially active.
• Relationships are dynamic, thus the testimonials that you see from 6 months back may not be valid today. Infact, I think all sites should allow a more dynamic rating of user profiles.

You can see the published list of features over here.

I think the greatest point about socialstream will be that it will allow integration and aggregration all community channels like Youtube and Blogger. Basically, it means that if I am your contact and I update a blog post on blogger or upload a video on YouTube, you are going it see it right from the SocialStream.

I am not sure if the application is also intended to capture content from places outside google network but they have hinted thats its on their radar by saying:

Socialstream would be based on a unified social network (USN), a single network that provides social data to other sites as a service. A service model allows many social networks to be linked together, letting them share both content and the nature of the relationships of the people who use them. A USN would, in practice, be invisible. All participating sites would simply share information through it. While the centralization of social information would enhance all applications that use it, the USN’s own interface would be very simple, perhaps only focusing on preferences and privacy controls that applied everywhere. Socialstream represents one possible way of accessing the information spread across participating networks.

Well, realistically speaking, SocialStream is still a university project and its not indicated whether or not it will be adopted by Google. Lets keep a watchout for it anyways !

Web Applications is all about having a constant internet connection. The traditional methods of GET and POST requires the page to refresh everytime you need to interact with the database and it posed serious limitations on how web based applications were used and delivered. Then came AJAX, it brought with it the capacity to interact with the database without having to reload/refresh the page. It gave desktop type look and feel to web applications and it fuelled the whole Web 2.0 revolution. But still , you need a live connection with the database and the webserver in order for it to work.

How about a situation when you update the website offline and then synchronize it online ? Would’nt your web application work just like desktop application? Yummy..!

Google is attempting to answer the prayers by releasing Google Gears. Its basically a browser extension available for IE 6+ and Firefox 1.5+ that promises to make web applications work offline. It consists of three crucial components:

1. A local server to cache on-line server resources like Images, HTML, CSS, JavaScript etc
2. A local database (SQLite) to store and access data from within a browser
3. A threading mechanism, to make applications perform better by doing expensive operations in the background

The official gears website states that they are working on creating the plugin available for browsers like Safari on Mac OS X but any tentative release date is not yet publicly available. Gears is not a plug and play thing, its an API available via a browser plug-in, thus, it means that in order to benefit from offline caching , the website needs to invoke the API explicitly.

Having a database in a plug-in does not means that its of little use, this is infact a full-featured database which means you can have a lot of relational tables, perform complex queries using joins or use full-text search features. A security feature also ensures that the database can only be by domain for which it was created, thus chances of hacking is not there.

Here is the big question  – Will Gears get Hot ? Personally I dont think this will get much attention from business community becuase of following reasons:

1. Its a plug-in which needs to be installed explicitly, not all users will want to do that.
2. It adds another layer of abstraction to the system which is very complex to handle.
3. You need to download the data before you can use it offline, synchronization operations are very complex becuase they are dependent on persistent internet connection. Add multi-user update to it and you got a whole new dimension of problem to think of.  Dont take this point lightly, if you have a multi-user, multi-point update scenario then handing offline updates will be a nightmare from hell.
4. The whole notion of off-line is not going to live after another 3 years of so. 50% of US is already on broadband.

So why did google build it?

That a tricky question, But I think offline update of adverts, keywords etc by individual advertisers may have something to do with it.  The advertisers wont mind a plugin and google wont mind freeing up some server resources from all the those reports which will be generated offline. Talk about a win-win situation ;)

Anyways, for now gears is comfortably sitting inside my browser. May be someday, while wandering across the internet, I will bump into a real gears application. If it does’nt happen anytime soon then , I will have to un-install it.

Today, Internet marketing fundamentally works on three principles -

1. PULL prospects (Targeting people with the NEED for the product)

2. Converting NEED to WANT

3. CLOSE the sale

Search engines are the best place to get the “pull prospects” that NEED the product or service you sell. The reason that they have been searching for your keyword related to your product and the reason they clicked their way to your website clearly signifies an “expression of interest”.

The major focus of all webmasters (smart ones) is on the “targeted visitors” of “qualified prospects”. Ten visitors who NEED widgets are far more valuable than 1000 visitors who might be surfing at 3 am just to kill time! It is a great innovation on part of pay-per-click (PPC) search engines that they bridge the gap between buyers and providers.

If I step into a buyer shoe, I know that if I go to a PPC engine, I will get active companies (instead of information sites), they will have well designed sites and will be responsive! Many search engines who are not PPC are including results of well established PPC engines giving a wider reach to the advertiser.

With the increasing influence of pay-per-click search engines, “targeted and qualified visitors” are becoming a commodity which a webmaster can buy off the shelf to give a head-start to his business within few minutes.

So, as the PULL process becomes a commodity, the emphasis is surely shifting towards conversion and closing.

The conversion process will primarily need a persuasive copy (styles may differ greatly) which will convert the NEED into the WANT for the product. The person who has been searching for the given product on internet has landed on your page.

Now think – 

• Does he emotionally WANT to buy the product?
• Is there enough reasons and emotions for him to commit to the product purchase? Are you giving him these reasons as a provider of the product?
• Is he convinced that the given product and the provider behind the product (you) will solve the problem at hand?
• Is he comfortable doing business with the provider?
• Does he trust you to deliver the solution?
• Is this NEED on the top of his priority list?

This is the reason, even when a person NEEDS a given product; he looks around till he WANTS to buy the same. This happens when the mental-blocks are cleared and the buyer is at peace.

So, considering the above situation, the two most important upcoming service areas will be:

1. Persuasive copy writing (conversion)

2. Improving uninterrupted closure (online + offline)

Indus Net Technologies is working tirelessly to bring up “Persuasive copy writing” service with its content development team, also branded as content2please.com. It is expected to be launched sometime in July 2007.

So keep tuned in!

 

I came across this search engine today and I think its quite amazing to see something like this. Its a step in the direction to humanize search engines and I think its a pretty cool thing.

Check this out -> www.msdewey.com